my grips were black. next step?
 

. . earlier today.

. . i read ed's note on murphy soap oil, and liberated a bottle from the local grocery, along with a toothbrush. i put the grips thru six soak, wash, and rinse cycles, starting with warm water and ending up with hot water.

. . i simply can not believe what was under all that grit. these grips were black. i had no idea they would turn out looking like this...

. . i have to learn how to boil linseed oil now.

. . thanks to ed and all the folks here for their help. i'm enjoying my machine.

bill

starshippe -

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm under the impression you do not have to actually boil the linseed oil.

You can buy it in a can and it has already been boiled.

If I'm wrong, would someone please correct me on this?

Thanks.

From Google: See : http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infpai/inflin.html


"Boiled" linseed oil is not boiled. The actual boiling of some oils changes their drying characteristics, true. With linseed oil, though, it is the addition of certain solvents that causes linseed oil to dry more quickly, acting as if it were boiled. This makes it a better product for preserving tool handles, decks, and furniture. I suppose they should have named it "sort-of-boiled linseed oil", or "kinda-like-boiled-but-not-really-boiled linseed oil". You know... to make it less confusing. Uh huh.


Why shouldn't you pick linseed oil as your first choice in a preservative?

Linseed oil has some negatives. Granted, it has been used with some success for many years. But welcome to the modern world! Today, there are scads of linseed oil-based paints and preservatives that expand on linseed oil's good qualities while overcoming (at least to some degree) its drawbacks.

Some of the problems with straight linseed oil, boiled or raw, are:

Sometimes linseed oil can take forever to dry... or stays sticky or doesn't dry at all!! This is a nightmare situation that happens too often when linseed oil is applied either (1) too thickly, (2) onto damp materials or (3) when the temperature is too cold. Thinning linseed oil with turpentine can help somewhat, but even with thinning it is important to apply thin, multiple coats but allow each coat to dry before applying the next!
No UV (ultraviolet) light resistance... UV causes more damage to exposed wood than any other factor, destroying wood fibers and setting it up for attack by mildew, fungus, and insects.
Linseed oil is mildew food... Many vegetable oils are food products for humans... all vegetable oils are food products for mildew! Linseed oil is not completely denatured, so it can encourage rather than discourage mildew growth.
Linseed oil does not harden sufficiently to offer enough resistance to abrasion to be a suitable deck floor preservative... at least by today's standards. Linseed oil has been used for interior wood floors, but it must be waxed for durability! Waxing an outside deck would be dangerous, even if you hang a "Slippery When Wet" sign!
Difficult to remove from wood... Multiple coats of linseed oil are gummy and difficult to remove fully for refinishing.

I have used linseed oil (boiled) and also tung oil, I like lindseed oil, as long as you don't use too much.


Ed

You can buy "boiled linseed oil" in any hardware store (Home Depot, Lowe's will have it) and it is cheap. Used it many times. It looks very nice on the grips. Smells nice too, at least for me. :)

The only painful part: apply thin coats waiting for the previous coat to dry.

Very nice! :)

Bill - How long between cycles??? Did you let it dry between cycles???

I did a similar strip of a pair of C96 grips...I haven't treated them with any tung or linseed oil yet...

they stayed immersed
 

. . most of the afternoon. they were only out of the water long enough to change out the water.

. . they swelled up enuf that i woulda had to force them back on the pistol, and i wasn't going to do that. i might shouldnta done it that way. :nono: im having to wait for them to dry. each grip lost about a quarter gram overnight. i don't know if its just coincidence, but the two grips weigh within 0.03 grams of each other.

. . i think i will try the watco polish. it seems to have all favorable reviews. but it may be a bit before they are dry enuf.

. . when i bought my '38, i didn't realize that the grips should have a wood grain finish. i saw pics showing it, and they looked very nice, but had no idea that i would ever see any grain at all in my black grips. when i did see the grain, i was one happy camper. even the unfinished grips make the pistol look sooo much better. yeah, its just cosmetic, but i was very pleased.

good luck with urs,

bill

Not really on-topic, but maybe of interest...

These are the C96 grips I stripped with lacquer thinner...They had been varnished or something like that; most [but not all] of it came off after scrubbing with thinner...

Not the best, but the varnish/whatever was pretty thick...

When I use boiled linseed oil on grips, I only put one coat and remove any excess with a cotton cloth. I never saw the need to apply more coats.

I used to use Boiled Linseed Oil, but now prefer Tung Oil. The Watco is very good, but will give a slightly more glossy finish than pure Tung Oil.

the next step...
 

. . i waited a week or so, and one grip was still tight, and the other was very tight. i went to work with what i think was 280 grit emery cloth, but i'm not sure just what it was.

. . the early interference points were visible. after knocking down these, i could see the slight interference spots by repeatedly pushing the grips into position and noting the bright areas.

. . a few more minutes and they fit perfectly.

. . in eyeballing the grips under the magnifier, i did thankfully notice the start of a crack in each. the superglue is soaking in now. each crack appeared to start at the screw hole. i'm sure i dont have any interference there now. i went ahead and put a spot of glue behind "the chip."

. . i did also notice a bit of damage from the mag release spring. you might want to insure that your spring is pushed to the rear as much as practical.

. . now, about the watco polish (its already purchased), can i put it on with a fine hair brush? ive seen several applicators mentioned, but i'm not sure whats wrong with a brush. should i put a coat on the back side, or let it breathe? i doubt that it will absorb enough moisture to swell any.

. . thanks for all the info, i appreciate it.

bill

a happy camper
 

. . in reading the instructions on the watco can, they didn't seem concerned about brush marks, so i went ahead and used a fine tipped brush. sure enuf, it soaked in quickly.

. . my grips now appear to be walnut, instead of some black plastic. i can even see the grain in it. :)

thanks, all.

bill

My favorite is the foam oven spray cleaner. Turns black gunky grips back into wood. Just wear rubber gloves.
DJU